1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of user interface controls and more particularly to iconic representations of objects and commands in a graphical user interface (GUI).
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional graphical user interface (GUI) has been widely used for many years. The primary function of the GUI includes providing user interface controls with which the end user can interact with an underlying application. The common GUI includes many stock user interface controls, most of which, when combined, can accommodate most computer human interactions required by an application. For example, when disposed in a window such as a dialog box, the static text box control can be used to present text to the end user while an edit box can permit the user to provide textual input to the application. A radio button control can provide for the exclusive selection of an element from among a field of elements, while a checklist box can provide for the non exclusive selection of elements from among a field of elements.
An icon is a staple component of the common GUI. The icon is a visual representation of an underlying object or action. Generally, an icon can be either selected or activated. An icon generally can be selected through a single mouse click in proximity to the icon, or through alternative input method means such as a keyboard strike when the icon has focus. Activation, by comparison, generally involves the “double-clicking” of the icon through a mouse or keyboard, although it is well-known to select icons through menu means in addition to a plethora of other operations.
In many operating systems, an icon can be configured to under a particular action through a configuration of the icon to become associated with the action. Likewise, an icon can be merely associated with an object such as a document through a configuration of the icon. In the latter circumstance, it is common to also specify an application and corresponding application operation to be performed when the icon is selected in association with an object. As an example, when an icon is associated with a document, the icon can be configured to open the document using a specified editor when the icon is activated.
Advanced forms of the modern operating system permit drag-and-drop operations for an icon. In a drag-and-drop operation, one object can be applied to another object by selecting and moving the subject object graphically over the target object. When the subject object is in suitable proximity to the target object, the subject object can be released triggering a drag-and-drop event. The target object—in this case an icon—can be pre-configured to process the drag-and-drop event by identifying the subject object and performing a pre-specified action on the subject object. For instance, where the target object is a printer icon and the subject object is a document, the target object can be pre-configured to print the document referenced by the subject object responsive to receiving a drag-and-drop event for the subject object.
Notably, in many circumstances, the target icon need not indicate the pre-specified operation for a drag-and-drop operation for a subject icon because the pre-specified operation will be apparent to the end user such as the printer and document icons example. In other circumstances, however, the pre-specified operation will not be so clear. Rather, in many other circumstances, the context of a series of interactions between the user and the GUI will determine the most logical, pre-specified operation for a drag-and-drop even for a target icon in respect to a subject icon. Yet, the context of a series of interaction can vary from user to user while a target icon can have only a single, pre-specified operation for a drag-and-drop event for a subject icon.